I don't think there's any Coen brothers film that belongs in the Top 10 of all time, but others have disagreed. Moreover, in their discussion, they've ignored my beloved Fargo. Don't they know that if I think something, it must be right? Rather than sidetrack that discussion, I decided to put it to a poll. What's the Coen Brothers' best film?

Please feel free to discuss and debate.

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Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:14 am

CasualDad

Cinematographer

Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:19 pmPosts: 623

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

I could have easily picked any one of 5 of them, but Raising Arizona was the freshest when I saw it and thus has created the most fond memories. Yes, I know I'm old!

Mon Aug 06, 2012 2:15 pm

Ken

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Movies, like people, are multifaceted individuals. They defy attempts to arrange them linearly according to what they do. In approaching any exercise that involves whittling down a list of movies for any reason, you must first set the bar--that is, think of what defines your criteria. Then, in relation to the bar, you ask the question: which movies can compete and which ones can't?

For me, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, and A Serious Man are all valid contenders. They have technical mastery and singular human resonance. To couch it like a musician, they have chops and soul. But only one of them has that Barton Fink feeling.

Seeing Raising Arizona up there with a vote definitely cocked my eyebrow. It's a wonderful movie, but I haven't considered it as a top-tier Coen Brothers movie. I'm interested to see what people have to say about it.

Mon Aug 06, 2012 2:28 pm

oafolay

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Ken wrote:

Movies, like people, are multifaceted individuals. They defy attempts to arrange them linearly according to what they do. In approaching any exercise that involves whittling down a list of movies for any reason, you must first set the bar--that is, think of what defines your criteria. Then, in relation to the bar, you ask the question: which movies can compete and which ones can't?

For me, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, and A Serious Man are all valid contenders. They have technical mastery and singular human resonance. To couch it like a musician, they have chops and soul. But only one of them has that Barton Fink feeling.

Seeing Raising Arizona up there with a vote definitely cocked my eyebrow. It's a wonderful movie, but I haven't considered it as a top-tier Coen Brothers movie. I'm interested to see what people have to say about it.

I am shocked that no one has voted this one yet considering how highly esteemed it is by most of the film-watching community (although, while I liked the film, I have personally never thought as highly of it as do seemingly most people). For me, No Country for Old Men takes the crown but Miller's Crossing and Blood Simple are pretty high up there too.

Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:46 pm

CasualDad

Cinematographer

Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:19 pmPosts: 623

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Just wanted to make sure that my choice of Raising Arizona wasn't made in an attempt to yank anyone's chain. I skew big for comedy and, for some reason, the humor in that movie hit me much harder than all of the others. Maybe because the style was new to me at the time, but I've seen it twice since and still love it. My other favorites in order:

FargoO Brother, Where Art Thou (I live near where the tale takes place and enjoy bluegrass)The Big LebowskiNo Country for Old Men

Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:31 pm

Mark III

Assistant Director

Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:43 pmPosts: 844

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

I've been revisiting all the available Coens and find that, like others, picking one that rises higher than the rest is challenging. I voted "A Serious Man", what I see as the Coen's most direct statement on their traditional themes. "Barton Fink" is my #1.01 selection.

_________________"The Internet has given everybody in America a voice. For some reason, everybody decides to use that voice to bitch about movies." - Holden McNeil

Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:19 pm

PeachyPete

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Fargo is my favorite so I voted for that. I very easily could have picked Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, or A Serious Man.

I think Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, Miller's Crossing, and Intolerable Cruelty are right there on the next tier. They've made no less than 8 movies that I love dearly, and, as such, I can't really argue with anyone's selections because their output is so consistently of high quality.

Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:43 pm

Mark III

Assistant Director

Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:43 pmPosts: 844

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

PeachyPete wrote:

They've made no less than 8 movies that I love dearly, and, as such, I can't really argue with anyone's selections because their output is so consistently of high quality.

I'll need to re-watch The Ladykillers to gain an appreciation. I only just put the time into The Big Lebowski, a movie I've long considered to be a random pile of confusion and trying-too-hard. It turned out to be a great movie, rendering my (presumably drunken) dismissal of the film as an inferior of Pineapple Express both endearing (I was innocent, so pure a year ago... or I was drunken, depressed a year ago. Take your pick. I choose b.) and misguided.

_________________"The Internet has given everybody in America a voice. For some reason, everybody decides to use that voice to bitch about movies." - Holden McNeil

Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:51 pm

Ken

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Seven votes so far, and seven different answers. It could only be a Coen brothers thread.

Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:07 pm

JamesKunz

Critic

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:35 amPosts: 6252Location: Easton, MD

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

I went with Fargo, though I love A Serious Man too. Raising Arizona is too much quirk with no substance, for my money's worth

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Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:31 pm

Colin

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

I was the loner that went for The Hudsucker Proxy.

My reasoning is this...I love pretty much all of the Coen Brothers films, but this one is one of the few that I can watch whenever and whatever kind of mood i'm in. Plus it's the easiest one to get other non-film obsessed people to watch and they will enjoy it too.

There are more in depth reasons why I love this movie so much...but that's the quick and easy gut reaction to seeing this thread.

EDIT: Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, and The Ladykillers sort of fall into these criteria as well. I'd have a hard time deciding if I only had two DVD's to watch and they were Oh Brother, and The Hudsucker Proxy. The Ladykillers is very underrated too though...lol.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:55 am

PeachyPete

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Mark III wrote:

I'll need to re-watch The Ladykillers to gain an appreciation. I only just put the time into The Big Lebowski, a movie I've long considered to be a random pile of confusion and trying-too-hard. It turned out to be a great movie, rendering my (presumably drunken) dismissal of the film as an inferior of Pineapple Express both endearing (I was innocent, so pure a year ago... or I was drunken, depressed a year ago. Take your pick. I choose b.) and misguided.

That's great to hear. I think a lot of times that movie has become such a cult comedy/stoner hit that people tend to overlook it for what it is. Glad you finally saw the light, Mark III.

Also, I've never seen The Ladykillers. Along with The Hudsucker Proxy, those are the 2 Coen Brothers movies missing for me. I've never had a great urge to see either one, although I've heard good things about the latter.

JamesKunz wrote:

I went with Fargo, though I love A Serious Man too. Raising Arizona is too much quirk with no substance, for my money's worth

I so wish I had access to an essay I once read about Raising Arizona and Socialism. I find it a very funny, and oddly, very sweet movie about a man learning to grow up. It also has an awesome, awesome soundtrack.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:47 pm

Mark III

Assistant Director

Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:43 pmPosts: 844

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

PeachyPete wrote:

I so wish I had access to an essay I once read about Raising Arizona and Socialism.

And I wish I had access to an essay I never read called The Coens: Are They Jewish?

_________________"The Internet has given everybody in America a voice. For some reason, everybody decides to use that voice to bitch about movies." - Holden McNeil

Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:59 pm

Gedmud

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 1:43 pmPosts: 345

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

I really need to watch some more of these movies. If there were 5 that I should watch, which 5 would they be? Excluding No Country, because I've seen it.

_________________Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel, and from here on out I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:08 pm

Blonde Almond

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Gedmud wrote:

I really need to watch some more of these movies. If there were 5 that I should watch, which 5 would they be? Excluding No Country, because I've seen it.

That's an extremely tough question. My picks would be Blood Simple, Barton Fink, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and A Serious Man. I guarantee though that nobody here is going to give you the same five recommendations. That's one of the great things about the Coens; they've really only had a few films that could be called "duds", and even their duds are still pretty damn good.

I ended up going with O Brother, Where Art Thou? for this poll. I doubt many would label it the Coen Brothers' best film, and honestly I'm not sure I would either, but it's still the one I can watch over and over again and always enjoy without any reservations.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 7:33 pm

JamesKunz

Critic

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:35 amPosts: 6252Location: Easton, MD

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

Mark III wrote:

PeachyPete wrote:

I so wish I had access to an essay I once read about Raising Arizona and Socialism.

And I wish I had access to an essay I never read called The Coens: Are They Jewish?

Page 1: "Yes. And how."

File in the World's Shortest Books alongside Modern Italian War Heroes and The Great English Cookbook

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Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:17 am

ed_metal_head

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

No Country for Old Men? It's a really good movie and all (possibly great), but are y'all serious?

I voted a movie where even the incidental conversations are completely hilarious:

Code:

Ulysses Everett McGill: Deceitful, two-faced she-woman. Never trust a female Delmar, remember that one simple precept and your time with me will not have been ill spent.Delmar O'Donnell: Ok, Everett.Ulysses Everett McGill: Hit by a train! Truth means nothing to a woman, Delmar. Triumph of the subjective. You ever been with a woman?Delmar O'Donnell: Well, I... I... I gotta get the family farm back before I can start thinking about that.Ulysses Everett McGill: That's right, if then. Believe me Delmar, woman is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man.

Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:19 pm

JamesKunz

Critic

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:35 amPosts: 6252Location: Easton, MD

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

ed_metal_head wrote:

No Country for Old Men? It's a really good movie and all (possibly great), but are y'all serious?

I voted a movie where even the incidental conversations are completely hilarious:

Code:

Ulysses Everett McGill: Deceitful, two-faced she-woman. Never trust a female Delmar, remember that one simple precept and your time with me will not have been ill spent.Delmar O'Donnell: Ok, Everett.Ulysses Everett McGill: Hit by a train! Truth means nothing to a woman, Delmar. Triumph of the subjective. You ever been with a woman?Delmar O'Donnell: Well, I... I... I gotta get the family farm back before I can start thinking about that.Ulysses Everett McGill: That's right, if then. Believe me Delmar, woman is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man.

ed_metal_head wrote:

No Country for Old Men? It's a really good movie and all (possibly great), but are y'all serious?

Good to see you around here. I love O Brother Where Art Thou dearly as wellI voted a movie where even the incidental conversations are completely hilarious:

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Sat Aug 11, 2012 3:21 pm

Ken

Re: What's the Coen Brothers' Best Film?

NCFOM is a brilliant movie. It just isn't as brilliant as the one I picked.

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